For those of you who have already ante-ed up make sure you have familiarized yourself withthe standards. The Heats will be listed Monday. In the meantime, have you given your attempts any thought? In case you are totally lost, here are some thoughts on how to approach each 20 minutes...

Plan ahead so you can finish each movement feeling like this!

Your Opener

So you get 3 attempts per lift... what do you open with? Open with 200 when you have hit 195 in training. Go big or go home... right?? WRONG! Your opener should be something that you know you can hit. That means maybe it's a weight you've done it for a triple. Or maybe it's a weight you know is your last "safe" weight before the nervy mental stuff starts to kick in. Either way, it’s there to build confidence. It sets the tone for the rest of your lifts, and even the rest of the competition. If you set the bar too high, the rest of the meet will seem like a chore... and nobody wants to walk away with a "0" because they over shot it.

Your Second Attempt

Presuming your opening went well, this is where you’ll find yourself getting close to PR territory. This is normally a middle ground to the final attempt where you go for broke. Think that this is where you want to aim 95-97% of your end target and typically somewhere around 98% of your max. Think of it as your launching point into the glory you should visualize as your final attempt.

Didn't make that first attempt? Don't stress. Take one moment longer than you think you need to stop, relax, visualize yourself coming back and making the attempt and give yourself the cue you need to hit your weight and move on.

Your Third Attempt

Finally! The third attempt! Go for gold! Take a second to be present with how #2 felt, and choose your jump from there. Once you made up your mind, don't touch the bar until you've made the lift in your head. Whatever you do - NEVER MATCH your PR. If you aren't 100% on competition day, hit what you are going to hit, but if you are near the magic number, throw the .5 kilo plates on. Matching a PR is settling. NEVER SETTLE.